Human centred design to improve student experience - CUSTOMER La Trobe University - DXC Technology
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Human centred design to improve student experience CUSTOMER La Trobe University LOCATION Melbourne, Victoria, Australia INDUSTRY Higher Education
Challenge
■ A need to improve student connections, a sense of belonging, and
overall experience
■ No clear definition or understanding of current student experience
during peak periods
■ A need to solve the business problem of using too many human
resources to support peak period (Orientation and first week of semester)
and understand issues impacting on a positive student experience
Solution
■ Human Centred Design (HCD) and Agile delivery to address La Trobe
student needs and explore emergent technology as an opportunity to
augment effort
■ Innovative techniques helped uncover pain points previously masked by
the number of staff providing support during peak periods
■ A cross-functional, collaborative, and self-organising team
co-designed the best possible service for students
Results
■ La Trobe students engaged throughout the discovery and design
process and as part of project team
■ Agile delivery with iterative development facilitated an outcome
every sprint
■ Co-designing potential solutions with students and staff ensures high
relevance and chance of success and the ability to challenge the existing
business model
2Human centred design to improve
student experience
La Trobe University is a teaching and research university with
seven campuses across Australia serving over 38,000 students
(2017). 52 years young, the latest Times Higher Education
ranking put La Trobe as 7th in Australia and 2nd in Victoria, with
their research ranked in the top 1.2% of the world’s universities.
With a primary goal to deliver a consistently high quality
experience for all students, La Trobe University aspires to be
number one in Victoria for high quality student experience and
learning outcomes by 2022. A new strategic plan was designed
to support the University in achieving exceptional student
experience — a critical business driver enabling the 2022 vision.
“The idea of the DTC really Challenge
appealed to La Trobe since its
approach is to think big but While student experience is a core part revenue impact (almost seven figures)
start small while challenging of the La Trobe University philosophy, — and La Trobe knew that improved
there was no clear definition of what student experience through peak
the status quo to act
the current aspiration was for key periods could help influence this metric.
differently. We wanted to take
peak period support over orientation
people on a journey and were periods and the start of each semester.
The other key objective of this initiative
was to explore emerging technologies
adamant about co-designing La Trobe engaged DXC Technology as
that could be applied to improving
solutions with students — a strategic partner to help define and
the student experience. La Trobe
DXC appreciated that.” focus on improving student experience
was already undertaking ‘Horizon
(local and international) during peak
— Stuart Hildyard 01’ and ‘Horizon 02’ programs aimed
periods so they felt more connected
CTO, La Trobe University at improving customer experience.
and engaged with an improved sense of
Initiatives are covering process
belonging at the university.
improvement, online feedback,
In parallel, a significant business wellbeing, ongoing customer service
problem facing the Higher Education training and recognition programs. In
sector in Australia is the census period support of these programs, Horizon 03
dropout rate. Reducing the dropout was initiated to focus on improving the
rate by just 1% has substantial positive student experience during peak periods.
3Solution
Leveraging DXC’s unique Digital The DXC team introduced La Trobe to a
Transformation Centre (DTC) new way of working by applying innovative
methodology and approach, a seven- techniques to uncover pain points that
week engagement was delivered to gain may previously have been masked by
deep insights into student experience. additional resources during peak periods.
DTCs form part of a global network of La Trobe graduates and students were
centres and leverage Human Centred involved throughout the discovery phase
Design (HCD) for improved results. to support project outcomes.
O-Week Go! is proposed as The HCD approach allowed the Saurabh Singh, client partner and
a cloud based application project uninhibited collaboration national higher education industry lead
designed to help integrate across the university with hundreds of for DXC said “DXC is deeply passionate
students into their orientation students and over 15+ organisational about bringing the human centred
units involved in the co-creation of design experience to the forefront of the
experience in an innovative
a proposed future. The HCD way of enterprise ecosystem. This is reflected in
and fun way. working also helped to further embed our co-creation and HCD approach at La
behaviour supporting La Trobe’s Trobe in understanding how we can help
Cultural Qualities of Connected, Care, students feel more connected and have
Innovative and Accountable. a better sense of belonging.”
By bringing together clients, partners, During the discovery phase, it became
university students, researchers, apparent that students didn’t currently
professional staff and DXC, multi-skilled feel supported throughout their
teams of varying size (from 2 up to 12), education lifecycle. The DXC team
collaborate on the customer’s site and created a comprehensive student
resolve an identified business challenge. journey map for the peak period and
discovered that most activity ended on
With teams exposed to design thinking,
Day 1. Following discovery, 200+ La Trobe
product development, Agile ways of
students were engaged via a unique
working and DevOps, incubation of new
‘pop-up’ on campus to provide input to
ideas is possible through to minimal
final recommendations aimed for pilot
viable products (MVPs). Ideas are
during 2020 peak periods. Students voted
fleshed out quicker for mobilisation
for ideas and shared general insights
in hours as opposed to weeks (or
forming a deeper understanding of the
months), with the approach consistently
student community, their motivations
delivering rapid ROI and lower risk for
and pain points.
all involved (fail fast and learn early).
4Results
“By 2022, we believe this The Strategic Capability and Student • Student hub: Central place integrating
will empower students Journey Roadmap Assessment was Learning Management System, My La
to personalise their completed and presented to executive Trobe, LTU website and social media
sponsors with a suggested alpha and platforms to enable students to find
orientation experience
beta implementation roadmap. With all the information relating to La
while also enabling La
more than 1,000 data points and Trobe (both social and educational) in
Trobe to adopt a proactive 190 ideas generated, the DTC team one place
stance to connections, articulated four common themes that
• What’s on campus: An app to help
and therefore potentially would help improve student experience
students navigate and identify
improving student retention during peak periods:
locations using augmented reality (AR)
rates and NPS scores for its • Better information with notifications on any current and
orientation program.” upcoming events happening nearby
• Consistent experience regardless
— Saurabh Singh of campus • VR orientation: A way to experience La
Client partner and national Trobe O-week using virtual reality (VR)
• Ability to build connections and
higher education industry lead, to explore the university campus and
maintain friendships
DXC the events going on in real time
• Ensure effective preparation
• O-Week Go!: A game for La Trobe
From those four themes, a co-creation students with a checklist of what
stage with students, staff, and other key needs to be done before and during
stakeholders conceived six potential O-week and an easy way to track
solutions broadly impacting three everything as it’s completed
areas: people and culture; tools and
Saurabh Singh said “Throughout the
technology; and physical space.
seven-week engagement, our Agile and
Co-creation was essential to ensure HCD ways of working not only gained
solutions were not only relevant and significant interest across the university,
desirable, but also feasible and viable to but it also helped us bring together
implement. Solutions included: a consolidated story of the student
orientation journey from a staff, student,
• Virtual campus tours: Virtual reality
researcher and vendor perspective.”
(VR) simulation enabling students to
take a tour of all La Trobe campuses Accompanying the recommendations
from the comfort of their own home was a comprehensive insights report
listing the many pain points and
• Intro me: An app to facilitate online peer
motivations the team identified during
connection, with a physical social space
the contextual inquiries. By following
provided for meeting peers face-to-face
a HCD approach and engaging
as many students as possible to
support and learn from, the project’s
recommendations were extremely well
received during concept testing. Stuart
Hildyard, CTO at La Trobe University said
5“DXC is deeply passionate “HCD will continue to be embedded as
a “new way of working” to support the
Next Steps
about bringing the human
University’s cultural transformation.”
centred design experience Planned alpha and beta phase
to the forefront of the The final recommendation is envisaged implementations are in negotiations,
as a single orientation platform which which will encompass a more
enterprise ecosystem. This is
will not only bring campus life to light in-depth planning and execution
reflected in our co-creation
through emerging technologies, but will of proposed solutions.
and HCD approach at La
also provide La Trobe with the ability
Throughout the co-design process with
Trobe in understanding how to better track and predict the level of
students and staff, the need for an
we can help students feel student engagement and connections.
innovative and integrated application
more connected and have a to support social and academic aspects
better sense of belonging.”
Benefits of orientation and enable students
— Saurabh Singh to connect with peers and/or staff
Client partner and national The biggest learning from this initiative champions to build team connection
higher education industry lead, was the power of co-creation through the was identified. O-Week Go! is proposed
DXC principles of the DTC and HCD to ensure as a cloud based application designed
engagement. Students felt excited and to help integrate students into their
valued to be part of the journey, and orientation experience in an innovative
both professional and academic staff and fun way.
appreciated their active involvement Saurabh Singh concluded, “By 2022, we
throughout discovery and design. believe this will empower students to
Delivering in an Agile way meant the personalise their orientation experience
team underwent iterative development while also enabling La Trobe to adopt
and delivered an outcome every a proactive stance to connections, and
sprint (two weeks). The team was therefore potentially improving student
cross-functional, collaborative and self- retention rates and NPS scores for its
organising and continuously adapted orientation program.”
to co-design the best possible service
for students. La Trobe acknowledged
that minimal presence was required as
a product owner, and was grateful to
the high performing team for delivering
outcomes within the timeframe.
Stuart Hildyard said, “The idea of the
DTC really appealed to La Trobe since
its approach is to think big but start
small while challenging the status quo
to act differently. We wanted to take
people on a journey and were adamant
about co-designing solutions with
students — DXC appreciated that.”
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